When Steve Jobs takes the stage next Wednesday at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, he will be attempting to pull off the kind of dramatic debut that seems almost impossible in this age of unreal expectation and insatiable hype. Outside of the rumored announcement of the iPhone 4G, it’s the iSlate, (or Apple Tablet, or MacBook touch) that industry insiders are convinced will be the life of this party. The tablet PC has been attempted in one form or another for years now, but most gadget-crazed consumers believe that if anyone can convince us that we need this thing, it’s Apple… and they’re right. I’d confidently (but uncomfortably) place myself in the Mac fanboy camp, and if they somehow manage to blow us all away on the 27th (and keep the price below $1,000) I could find myself saving up for that early adopter’s license. I’m actually quite surprised that we still know as little as we do about the iSlate so close to it’s unveiling. What doesn’t shock me however, is the rabid speculation regarding it’s form factor and the dozens of impressive mock-ups that have made their rounds on the old interslice. I’ve included a few of my favorites after the jump, and would love to hear what kind of unreal features you all feel would make Apple’s tablet a must-own device in 2010.
